Deceiving Appearances
by Cuno
Summary: Appearances can be deceiving....... As the GW boys find out. Who is this new girl, and what does she know about OZ? My first GW fic, so please go easy on me. I haven't seen all the eps, so just correct me, and I'll change it. Thanx, and R/R!!
1. Default Chapter Title

It was a cool, clear night. Heero Yuy walked slowly along the streets, deep in thought. Suddenly, he heard a yell and then some fighting sounds. They seemed to be coming from a darkened alley just off to his left. The brown-haired youth started to run towards the sounds. But when he rounded the corner, he stopped in amazement. A girl about his age was beating up two boys twice her size, her blonde hair flying with each kick.  
  
"Hai!" she yelled, flipping one of the boys over her hip, then punching the other in the stomach. Heero snapped to his senses and ran at the boy she'd just flipped. He punched him in the side of the head, knocking him out, then turning to face the second boy. The girl had slammed the boy into the wall, then easily tossed him aside. She turned and glared at Heero.  
  
She had long blonde hair, and blue eyes. Her face was mainly covered by a black scarf, but she was slender and graceful. She was dressed in tight black leggings, a too-small gray sweater and scruffy black boots.  
  
"Thank you for your help. Although I didn't need it." There was a hint of amusement in her light voice. As she turned to go, Heero grabbed her arm.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, pulling her back. As he did, her scarf fell away from her face. Heero's eyes widened. The girl looked exactly like Relena Peacecraft.   
  
She shoved his hand away and hurriedly covered her face again.   
  
"Get away." She said, turning to go. Heero grabbed her arm again.  
  
"I want to know who you are. Are you from OZ?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. The girl immediately stiffened.  
  
"What do you know about OZ? Tell me now, boy." She said imperatively.  
  
"No, I want to know who you are first. Where do you come from?"  
  
"None of your business! Now let go of me, and tell me all you know of OZ." She pulled back, but Heero just tightened his grip. Her eyes darkened in anger and she pulled away again.  
  
"Fine. You want to learn about OZ? Then come with me." Heero turned and started to walk casually towards the street. As he'd suspected, the girl was too curious not to pass up his offer. He heard light steps, then she slipped up beside him.  
  
In a few minutes, they were back at the headquarters. The girl glanced around warily, then stayed close behind him as they entered the building. They climbed up the stairs toward a brightly lit room. A man moved around, looking at papers, checking charts and maps, and writing in a notebook.   
  
"Doc, I've got someone I want you to meet. She wants to know about OZ." Unnoticed by the girl, Heero and Doc moved closer to the door as she looked around. Pictures and designs of Gundams covered the tables, along with maps of the space stations. She glanced suspiciously at them as they talked, then returned to her studying.  
  
"Who is she, Heero?" Doc asked softly.  
  
"I don't know, but I have a feeling she knows more than she lets on. I think she's from OZ, because she seems too interested in them, and also, she looks exactly like Relena! She has to be a spy." Heero whispered back.  
  
"Relena Peacecraft? But how? I didn't think OZ knew how to clone people, and how would they get her DNA?"  
  
"They don't. But we have to keep her here, and find out who she really is."  
  
"Miss?" Doc asked the girl. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."  
  
"It's Relana. Relana Sank. Back to why I'm here. What do you know of OZ?" she asked, turning to look at them. She took in them both standing by the door, and her eyes narrowed. "Actually, I think I've been here long enough. Let me pass." She walked to stand in front of the two, and moved as if to push them out of the way.  
  
"I'm afraid we can't do that, miss. We need to find out who you truly are." Doc's normally kind brown eyes were hard.  
  
"I just told you who I am. Relana Sank. Why won't you believe me?" Even now, she showed no trace of fear, just anger and annoyance. "Now let me pass."  
  
"No. You're staying here." Heero replied, stepping in front of Doc. The girl moved with amazing speed and silence. Within seconds, she had punched and shoved Heero, and pushed Doc out of the way. She threw herself out the door, rolled, and was up and running again. She glanced back to see where Heero and Doc were-and ran straight into another youth. He let out a startled 'hey' and grabbed her shoulders.  
  
"Good job. Bring her back here." Heero yelled down the hall. Relana ducked her head as the youth looked at her, blue eyes curious. His blond hair was cut short, and he was taller than Relana.  
  
"Who is it, Heero?" The boy asked. Relana had lost her scarf somewhere and kept her face carefully hidden.  
  
"Just bring her over here." Heero snapped. "We'll find out soon enough." The blond youth shrugged and pushed Relana in front of him until they reached Heero and Doc. As she turned around, his mouth dropped open.  
  
"Hey, it's Relena! I thought you didn't know who she is?" he questioned.  
  
"Because it's not Relena, Quatre. She says her name is Relana Sank. She has to be from OZ, though." Heero replied.  
  
"A spy? But then how can she look like Relena?" Quatre asked.  
  
"We don't know. That's why she has to stay here, so we can find out who she really is." Doc said.  
  
"Much as I hate to break this up, you're talking about me like I don't exist! My name is Relana Sank, and I want you to let me go! I don't belong to OZ, in fact I want to destroy them. Why do you care so much about OZ?" Relana snapped.  
  
"Because the company's our enemy too." Quatre replied.  
  
"Will you tell us who you really are?" Doc asked. Relana sighed.  
  
"Again, I'm Relana Sank. That's who I've been my entire life, that's who I'll be until I die. Would you like my whole life's history? I'm the only daughter of the Sanks, my real parents died when I was a baby, and I was adopted. Happy now?"   
  
"No. We need to find out whether you're telling the truth. If you are, then you'd be willing to let us check." Doc said.  
  
"Fine, whatever. What do you want to do to me?"   
  
"Just a fingerprint check. Relatively painless." Doc replied. Relana arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Relatively? Yeah, nice. And I can go once you've seen that I'm really me?"  
  
"Of course." Heero replied.  
  
"Like I'm gonna believe you." Relana growled. Quatre smiled.  
  
"You'll be let go, Relana." He said.  
  
"Thank you, blondie." She replied, before walking off with Doc.  
  
"Where'd you meet up with her?" Quatre asked, jerking a thumb at Relana's receding back.  
  
"She was beating up two boys in an alley outside. Don't know what they did to her, but she knows how to fight. I'm still not convinced she's who she says she is."  
  
"You're too suspicious, Heero. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."   
  
  
A few hours later, Doc called them down to his lab. By then, Wufei and Trowa had joined them and were curious to see the girl who looked like Relena.  
  
"Well, she is mostly who she says she is. Her name is Relana, she's 15, and she was adopted. She's skilled with most weapons, and knows karate, tae bo, kick boxing, judo, and tae kwon do. But here's the funny part. According to her fingerprints, her last name's really Peacecraft. That means she's Relena's twin sister."  
  
  
  



	2. Default Chapter Title

"Relena's twin?!" Heero exclaimed. "But Relena doesn't have a twin."  
  
"According to this, she does. I found some files that should have been deleted years ago. Apparently, twins were born in the Sank Kingdom, but there could be only one heir. After Miliardo left, they had to decide which of the two babies it would be. Relena was the obvious choice. She was the elder by two minutes, and Relana was far too active and defiant for their plans. Even as a baby, she wanted her own way, and was independent almost immediately. They put her up for adoption, and told the parents to only tell her she was adopted, not who her real parents were. The only link she had was her last name, Sank. However, there are some differences. Relana has green eyes, not blue, and her hair is a lighter shade of blonde. She's also more tanned, more fit, and much more powerful than Relena is." Doc replied.  
  
"Thanks for the genealogy report, Doc, but can I leave now?" Relana asked, banging on the glass of the room she was in.  
  
"I'm afraid not, Relana. You see, we can't just have one of the heirs to the Sank Kingdom running around."  
  
Relana's mouth dropped open, and her eyes filled with anger. "Is that what they teach Gundam pilots now? How to lie to people?!" she snarled. "Oh, I know who you are." She added in response to their surprised looks. "Because I'm a Gundam pilot too. I was trained for it, then sent here to find the five other Gundams. Looks like it was just my luck to have met Heero here. As for you, blondie, you told me I could go. Was this all part of your plan? To keep someone against their will?"  
  
"No way! I didn't know this would happen!" Quatre protested. Just then, another boy with long, braided brown hair walked in, eating a sandwich.  
  
"What's all the yelling about? I could hear you halfway down the hall." He mumbled around the sandwich. Silently, the others moved so he could have a clear view of the room. His eyes bulged and he choked on his sandwich. After coughing, he could finally talk.  
  
"What's Relena doing in there?" he asked.  
  
"For the last time, I'm not Relena! I'm Relana, and I want to go home!" Relana yelled.  
  
"Okay, cool down. Why can't you go home?" he asked. Relana glared at him.  
  
"Because your friends won't let me. And why won't they let me? Because my sister's heir to the Sank Kingdom! And how does that matter to me? It doesn't, so let me go!" she yelled.  
  
"We can't let you, because OZ would love to get their hands on you. As long as nobody knows you're alive, you won't be troubled." Doc explained. Relana eyed him.  
  
"For one, as you yourself pointed out, it's not likely that I won't be able to defend myself. And for another, keeping someone against their will is illegal."  
  
"You would never have stayed otherwise." Heero put in.  
  
"Did anyone ask her?" Duo suddenly put in. Doc and Heero looked dumbfounded for a minute.  
  
"Well, no, we didn't ask." Doc said slowly. Relana rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air.  
  
"Well, there you go!" she replied. "Looks like they're is at least one of you with some sense." Doc sighed and pressed the button that released Relana.   
  
"Relana, you're staying here until we can get this sorted out." Doc said, expecting her to argue. To the surprise of everyone, Relana just shrugged.   
  
"Whatever." She replied.  
  
"Duo, go with Relana to get her stuff. I want you two back here as soon as you can." Doc told them sternly. Relana shook her head.  
  
"No, that's fine. I can get it myself. I don't have much, really." she replied, looking slightly worried. "He doesn't have to come. I'll be back, I promise." Her eyes pleaded with them, making Heero wonder what exactly she had to hide.  
  
"No, Duo's going with you." Doc said, with a note of finality. "Why shouldn't you have much?"  
  
Relana's shoulders slumped, and she looked tired, as though she'd been controlling herself through sheer will.   
  
"I guess you should know." She replied softly. "I don't have much because my parents abandoned me five years ago. They sent me to a boarding school and just disappeared. They said they couldn't handle my temper and I was too defiant. The boarding school was where I was trained as a Gundam pilot, and given my own Gundam. But it was horrible there. Many times we weren't even fed, and the kids that failed vanished. Only myself and another girl, Meg, got out. I don't know where Meg is, but I've been living on the streets since I was 13. And the reason I want to find OZ? Because they were the ones who ran that school. They wanted us to be their spies, and find you guys. We would pretend to fight OZ, but instead report your movements and plans. But I refused, and ran away. Luckily, no one there knew who Relena was, or I would have been killed." By the time she was finished, she was shaking. "So now you know. That's basically my whole life story. And now that you have heard it, forget about it. I'm starting over now, right? C'mon Duo, there are a few things I need." Relana started for the door, Duo following. Wufei's voice stopped her.  
  
"What is your Gundam's name, anyway?" he asked. Relana turned with a mischievous smile.  
  
"Her name is Kamikaze." Then she was gone.  
  
"I have a feeling things are going to change around here, and fast." Trowa remarked gloomily.  
  
  
Relana and Duo were back in an hour. Relana had been living in a small, abandoned cottage. She only had a pair of extra boots and a change of clothes, plus a tiny locket with a picture of her as a baby inside. When she saw Duo looking at it, she explained.  
  
"It's the only picture I have of anything to do with my real family. In fact, I guess it could even be Relena. I wonder what she's like?" Relana had turned to grab her boots, and didn't see Duo's grin.  
  
"Nothing like you, that's for sure." He had murmured, following her outside. Now they were climbing the stairs back to Doc's office. Relana opened the door-and stopped dead. It was like looking into a mirror. Her image stood on the opposite side, her hand also touching the doorknob. Her mouth was open in shock, and Relana idly wondered whether her mouth was open too. Relana moved first, walking into the room. The other girl followed.  
  
"Are you Relana?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm a figment of your imagination." Relana replied sarcastically, before she could stop herself. Relena, who it had to be, looked taken aback, but quickly recovered her poise.  
  
"I'm pleased to meet you. You will be staying with us, right?" Relena asked.  
  
"No, I'm staying here." Relana replied.  
  
"I thought this was a reunion of sisters." Duo drawled from the doorway. "You two sure don't act like it."  
  
"Well, we've never seen each other before. Relena, where are the others?" Relana replied, making a face at Duo. As if on cue, Quatre rushed in, his eyes wild in a pale face.  
  
"It's OZ!" he gasped. "They're attacking one of the colonies!"  
  
  
  
A/N: Muchos gracias to Jade, Anime Princess, Silver Wing, and Star. You guys gave me some good ideas, and I hope you'll read and like this part! 


	3. Default Chapter Title

Duo and Quatre turned to run out the door, then waited for Relana. As Relana moved to join them, Relena grabbed her arm.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded. Relana stared at her in shock.  
  
"I'm going to fight, of course. Where else!" she replied.  
  
"No, you're not. You're not a Gundam pilot, and I won't allow you to go." Relena drew herself up to her full height, showing the queen she truly was. Duo and Quatre exchanged glances.  
  
"Relana, we need to go now!" Quatre said impatiently.  
  
"Where is it? Tell me, and I'll be there soon." Relana and her sister were trying to glare each other down.  
  
"L2 colony. Hurry!" Quatre and Duo disappeared.  
  
"Relena, you do not control me. The others need me, because I am a Gundam pilot. I don't want to fight with you, but this is too important. I don't want any innocent lives lost. I'll be back." Relana jerked her arm free and vanished out the door.  
  
  
The sky over the L2 colony was lit by bright flashes of light as the Gundams battled OZ. Things were going badly for the Gundams; OZ far outnumbered them. A sudden burst of brilliant white light alerted them: Relana had arrived.  
  
Kamikaze was black, with golden edging, and a fan of white spikes going down the head and neck. Two white horns adorned it's forehead, and great, feathery wings spread out behind it. In one hand it held a long, wicked-looking blade of pulsing white light. In the other, it held a glowing, silver chakram. Relana was an excellent fighter; she dispatched five big OZ mobile suits in as many seconds. She sliced them in half with the long blade, or threw the chakram to cut down any in her path.  
  
Through the comm, they heard her screaming an Indian war cry, just before blowing up one of the largest commander suits. Duo whooped and threw himself into the fighting again. Trowa ran out of bullets, as usual, and started slashing around. They could hear Quatre muttering 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' over and over again, as he cut down any who challenged him. Heero fought in silence, and Wufei attacked the OZ suits on the edges.  
  
Suddenly, Heero started swearing.   
  
"Relana! What is that girl doing? Relana, you baka!" he yelled through the comm. Duo's eyes opened wide. Relana was out of Kamikaze and running across the battle-torn field! Seemingly heedless of the firing and fighting around her, she raced toward what looked like an abandoned building near the edge. Faintly, Wufei's voice came through.  
  
"Idiot! Never should trust a woman!" he was yelling. Quatre tried to go after her, but was engaged with a persistent, small mobile suit. Duo tried to fight his way through, but he saw with relief that Wing Zero was flying toward Relana's rapidly disappearing form. For the first time, Duo noticed a plume of smoke rising from the building that twisted into a spiral shape. Trowa cleared a path for Heero, as Wufei kept OZ from the abandoned Kamikaze.   
  
Relana disappeared into the building, and Heero circled around it. In minutes, Relana had appeared again, carrying a large bundle, and followed by a young woman leading two children and carrying another. They shot towards Kamikaze, Relana scooping up the slower of the two children.   
  
"They've got children!" Heero yelled, blasting an OZ fighter that was swooping down on Relana's group. Suddenly, Relana stumbled and went down. She was up in seconds, but as she ran, she tugged the child by the arm, and held her side. The other woman sped up, and grabbed the bundle Relana had dropped when she fell. Still carrying a child, and leading another, she caught up with Relana, who was slowing down. Relana was still clutching her side, and as she got closer, Duo saw with horror that her shirts was stained crimson.   
  
Reaching Kamikaze, Relana let the other woman in, then boosted the children up to her. Lastly, she herself climbed in. By now, OZ was in full retreat, beaten back by the Gundams fury.  
  
"Relana, Relana! What's happening?" Duo yelled through the comm.  
  
"I'm… fine. Gotta… home. Can… go home, Duo?" She was having trouble talking, out of breath from the run and shock. A new voice came on.  
  
"Duo, is that your name?" It was the other girl. "I'm Meg. 'Lana's fine, but we need to get her back to home, wherever that is." Her voice was steady and calm, with no trace of fear. "She can pilot Kamikaze, but she's losing blood fast. Get the other Gundam pilots, and move. Now!" Then Meg was gone. Duo called Heero, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei, and gave them Meg's message. Faintly, Wufei was still muttering.  
  
"Dumb girl! Can't trust women!"  
  
  
They arrived back at Doc's as fast as they could, but by that time, Relana was barely able to control Kamikaze. When Heero had told Meg to take control of Kamikaze, she had told him she couldn't.  
  
"What do you mean, you can't?" Heero had yelled.   
  
"Kamikaze isn't like your Gundams. She will only let 'Lana pilot her. I don't have time to explain now." Meg had replied calmly.  
  
Quatre was sent up the stairs first, to make sure Relena had left. He burst in the door, startling Doc. Unfortunately, Relena was still there, and when she saw Quatre's face, her own went dead white.  
  
"It's my sister, isn't it?" she whispered.  
  
"Relena, maybe you should go." Quatre began. She glared at him.  
  
"You are talking about my sister! I will not leave!" she snapped, showing a side that neither Doc nor Quatre had ever seen. Just then, they heard steps on the stairs. Duo walked in, bearing Relana in his arms. She looked so small and pale that Relena could hardly believe it was the same girl from two hours earlier. She was still awake, but her eyes were dilated with pain, and she was clenching her teeth to keep from crying out. This, however, did not stop her from telling Duo, repeatedly, to put her down.   
  
"I can walk! I'm not a child, that needs to be carried everywhere." She growled, then gasped as a fresh wave of pain hit her. Duo carried her into the small medical center Doc had set up for just this kind of thing. Yelling was heard on the stairs, and the wail of a baby.  
  
"I'm not a baby-sitter!" That was Heero, whom Meg had forced to carry one of the children. Trowa had the other, and Meg carried the baby. Wufei brought up the rear with the large bundle. As they entered the room, Meg was still yelling at Heero.  
  
"I don't care what you are! Relana risked her life for me and these children! I have to make sure she's okay." The child Heero carried wailed again, and flung her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his shoulder. Meg gave the baby to Quatre, who knew how to hold it at least. She disappeared into the room Duo had carried Relana into. She sent Duo and Doc out, telling them to make sure Heero didn't attack the children. That brought a faint smile to their faces, while Heero glowered at Meg's back.  
  
Inside the room, Relena held her sister's hand, her eyes begging with Meg to help Relana. Meg carefully stripped away the blood-soaked shirt, revealing a nasty gash three inches deep on Relana's side. The actual bullet had hit her in the arm.  
  
"You okay, Meg?" Relana asked weakly.  
  
"Stop worrying about me, 'Lana. You're the one hurt. You always were doing stupid stunts like this. You're gonna be fine."   
  
"Arigato, Meg." Relana looked at her with a knowing look, then sighed. Her eyes blinked closed, and she slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
"Meg? Meg, do something!" Relena cried, tears streaking down her face. Meg busied herself patching up Relana's side and arm.  
  
An hour later, she came back into the main room. The child Heero had carried was asleep on his lap, nestled into the crook of his arm. Quatre had found a cradle for the baby, and was now playing an idle game of cards with Duo. They both kept looking worriedly at the door. Wufei had set the bundle down and was tossing a coin from hand to hand. Trowa was showing the other child some tricks he learned in the circus. Doc paced back and forth. They all looked up as Meg entered. She looked troubled.  
  
"All we can do now is wait. But I won't lie to you. She's lost a lot of blood, and may not last the night."   



	4. Default Chapter Title

They looked stricken. Then Duo suddenly flung the cards across the room.  
  
"She will make it. I know it!" he said, his voice low and hoarse. The others stared in surprise as he stalked out of the room and down the stairs.   
  
"I knew things would never be the same." Trowa mumbled.   
  
"Relana has the fighting spirit. She's not going to give up that easily." Wufei added.  
  
"I suggest you all go to bed. Meg will watch Relana, and Duo will be back soon." Doc said. Meg gently picked up the child on Heero's lap, and put both children to bed. Meg and Doc settled on couches to wait out the night, as the pilots all headed to get some sleep.  
  
Only Relena saw Duo come back late at night. She offered him a wan smile. He patted her hand, and disappeared into his own room. He settled down to sleep immediately, his thoughts full of Relana.  
  
Duo woke only hours later. Light footsteps came down the hall and stopped outside his door. When the person opened it, Duo thought at first it was Relena. Then he saw the twinkling green eyes, the mischievous grin, and the pale blonde hair. She seemed to glow with inner light, almost floating across the carpet towards him. Duo's mouth hung open.  
  
"Relana? What? I thought..." he trailed off, then swung his legs out of bed. Relana laughed.  
  
"I came to say goodbye, Duo. I have to go." Duo's heart grew icy at her words.   
  
"What do you mean, Relana?" he stammered. A slight flash of annoyance lit her eyes briefly.  
  
"I mean I have to go. I don't know where... It's calling me, Duo. I had to say goodbye to you, though. You understand, don't you?" The mischief had left her face, to be replaced by a grave look. Duo grabbed her hands, surprised to feel solid flesh.  
  
"No. I don't. You can't leave, 'Lana." He saw slight surprise in her face at the use of her nickname, then an incredible sadness.  
  
"Why won't you let me go?" she asked softly. "I can't, not until you say I can." Duo shook his head.  
  
"Then I'm not letting you. You can't leave, Relana! We need you! No, no, no, no..."  
  
Duo woke with a start, still mumbling 'no, no'. He looked out the window and saw it was dawn. His dream had been so strange... Could it have been real? He jumped up and ran down the hall to Relana's room. He barged in without knocking, startling Relena, who'd been asleep.  
  
"Think you could have made any more noise?" A voice demanded. "A girl needs her sleep, ya know." Relana glared at him from the bed. Her face was still pale, but she looked better, and her eyes still sparkled.   
  
"Relana!" Duo yelled. "You're awake!"   
  
"No, Duo, you're just seeing things." Relana retorted. Duo rushed over and hugged her. She gave him the evil eye. Relena just laughed. She got up and stretched.  
  
"She's been awake for an hour now. She just suddenly woke up, muttering that she had to leave, but someone wouldn't let her." Relena shrugged. "Just a dream, I guess." She left the room.  
  
"I know you didn't let me, Duo. It wasn't just a dream, was it?" Relana said softly. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you." Duo shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"Now, where's Meg? I hope she's asleep." There was a hint of laughter in her voice that made Duo look at her suspiciously.  
  
"What are you planning, Relana?" he asked.   
  
"I'm just gonna get up." She replied, looking at him innocently, her eyes wide.   
  
"You're not."   
  
"I am. Try and stop me." Relana snorted, swinging her legs out of bed. She checked the bandage underneath the tatters of her shirt. "I need some new clothes." She mused, and stood.  
  
"Relana, get back in that bed now." Duo said menacingly. She stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"No." She glanced at him, and the corners of her mouth turned up. She smirked, as though daring him to try something. He glared back at her.   
  
"If you insist on staying up… Then you don't walk."   
  
"Huh?" She looked at him warily. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Just this." He lunged forward and grabbed her arm. Before she could react, he had swung her into his arms and was heading towards the door.  
  
"Put me down, you big ox!" she yelled. "Down, Duo, down!" He just laughed at her.  
  
"Will you go back to bed?" He asked.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Then I'm not putting you down until it's on a chair or your bed. You're classified as an invalid."  
  
Relena glanced in from the kitchen, and her eyes widened.  
  
"What are you doing out of bed? Duo, you should know better." She scolded. Duo shrugged, at least as well as he was able with a struggling Relana.  
  
"She wouldn't stay." He replied innocently. He walked into the kitchen and set her on a chair. She glared at him from under the hair covering her face. He grinned impertinently at her. Quatre walked into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Who was yelling? Hi Duo, Relena. Hi Relana." He continued on towards the fridge as Relena sighed, Duo looked at Quatre with an exasperated look, and Relana laughed.  
  
"Nice to see I made such a big impression, Quatre." She giggled. His head jerked around.   
  
"Relana! You're okay! What are you doing out here?" he said, obviously rattled.  
  
"Don't start with me on my being up." Relana replied. "I heard enough about that from these two." She jerked her head at Relena, who was drinking a glass of milk, and Duo, who was idly playing with his long braid. Meg walked in too. In daylight, she looked about 15 or 16, with long, black hair, dark eyes and high cheekbones. Her eyes slanted slightly, and her skin was a light brown.   
  
"Hi, 'Lana. I didn't think you'd still be in bed." Meg sat in the other chair. Relana looked up brightly.  
  
"So, what do we do now?"  
  
  
Three days later……  
  
"Doc, isn't there anything I can do?" Relana complained.   
  
"You can go find Makiko and Kenji." He replied, speaking of the two children Relana had brought with her. "Or watch Masayoshi." That was the baby. Relana made a face.  
  
"No thanks." The Gundam pilots and Relena had gone back to school, and Meg disappeared each day, early in the morning. She came back for supper, and would only say she'd been working when asked.  
  
"All right, if you're bored, you can go to school." Doc said. "It's about time you learnt something anyway."   
  
"When do I go to this torture chamber?" Relana asked, heaving a melodramatic sigh. "Are you sure I have to?"  
  
"Yes. You can go now. They've only just started, and the headmistress owes me a favor. Let's go." Doc stood up and looked at her expectantly. "You can get your uniform later. For now, those clothes will do." Relena had taken her shopping the day before. Balking at the skirts Relena had picked for her, Relana chose instead two pairs of tight blue jeans, two pairs of black leggings, and some T-shirts and midriff-baring tops. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a belly top reading 'I'm up and dressed. What more do you want?'.  
  
A few minutes later, they arrived at the big stone building. Students outside stared at Relana, who stared right back. When they passed, she heard whispers of 'Look, that looks like Relena.' 'Relena wouldn't wear that, dummy.' Relana smirked.   
  
Doc told her to wait outside while he went to talk with the headmistress. He soon came out, and told her that she was in room 208. Almost as an afterthought, he added that Duo was in the same class.  
  
"Try not to get into too much trouble with him." Doc said, looking pained. He'd already heard about the morning after Relana had been injured. Needless to say, he had not been impressed. He gave Relana a slip of paper with directions, and left. Left to herself, Relana started down the hall towards room 208. She found it and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a stern-looking teacher with beady black eyes and a tight-lipped smile.  
  
"Konnichiwa, Mrs…."  
  
"Mrs. Yamaguchi. Who are you?"  
  
"The new student. Relana Peacecraft." Peering into the room, she saw Duo give her a thumbs up. Mrs. Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Peacecraft? There should be only one student with that name here. Relena."  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi, she's my twin."  
  
"I wouldn't know. I've never seen her." Mrs. Yamaguchi sniffed and stood aside to let her into the classroom. Eyes widened, and a few boys whistled. Mrs. Yamaguchi gave them a look that had the class dead silent in two seconds.  
  
"Class, this is Relana Peacecraft. She will be joining us. Relana, take a seat next to Duo Maxwell, the boy with long, braided hair."  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Yamaguchi." Relana replied, with the innocent look that she used when she was planning something. Duo grinned at her when she sat down, and she made a face at the teacher's back.  
  
"Is she always like that?" she queried.   
  
"No. Usually she's worse. The last poor soul had to stand at the front and recite his entire life's history. It wasn't pretty." Duo murmured.  
  
"Silence, Mr. Maxwell." The teacher snapped. Relana looked around the classroom. Heero was here, studiously ignoring her. He still hadn't forgiven her for running across the field like that. Quatre sat in the back, his head in his hands as he listened to the teacher drone on and on. Nobody else she knew was here, though a few boys were staring at her, and a few girls were sending her nasty looks. Relana shrugged and settled down to appear to be listening.  
  
By lunch, Relana had been yelled at six times. Three times for falling asleep at her desk, twice for talking to Duo, and another time for being pert. Or so Mrs. Yamaguchi had said. Relana had differed with her on who was the Goddess of The Hunt, and who was the Goddess of Love. Mrs. Yamaguchi had said Artemis was the Goddess of Love, and Aphrodite was the Goddess of The Hunt. Relana had disagreed, pointed out the right one, and had been yelled at.   
  
Relana bought her lunch and headed outside. She'd agreed to meet Duo and Quatre out there, and they'd said they would bring the others. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, thinking it was Duo or Quatre. She made a face. It was a boy from her class, one that hadn't quit staring at her since she had walked into the classroom. He slung an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Hey, baby, how's it goin'?" he said, grinning at her confidently. She stiffened.  
  
"If you don't take your arm off me, you will find yourself missing some important body parts." She hissed, looking at him pointedly. He went slightly pale, then laughed.  
  
"C'mon, baby, you don't mean that."  
  
"Yes. I do. Get this through your thick skull, baka, I am not a girl who likes being handled. Either you let go of me, or you kiss the ground. Got that?"   
  
"You're just like your sister. A stiff little-" The yell could be heard halfway across the yard. The howl of pain following it made Duo, Quatre, Relena and Trowa break into a run. They recognized the yell as Relana's battle cry, and they could only wonder who was hurt. They rounded the corner in time to see a very angry Relana haul a young man up by the shirt. His eyes were wide with fear, and he was practically blubbering.  
  
"Take. It. Back. Hear me, you little jerk? Take it back. Now." Relana's voice was soft; she was at her most dangerous. Duo and Quatre pulled Relana away, while Trowa shoved the youth away. He watched them walk away, visibly trembling with anger.  
  
"I'll get you for that, Relana Peacecraft. No matter what, you will pay for that." He hissed before stalking away.   



	5. Default Chapter Title

"What possessed you to pick a fight with Terry Masters, anyway? He's the most influential guy in school!" Duo yelled at Relana, who glared up at him from her seat on a bench. She was rubbing her injured arm. Trowa studiously looked away, and Quatre shook his head. Relena looked scared.   
  
"He was bothering me." Relana replied, her voice low. Duo gaped at her.  
  
"He was just bothering you." Duo repeated. "And that gave you an excuse?!" Relana said nothing; she just clenched her fists.  
  
"Relana, do you realize that you may get us all expelled? It would totally ruin Doc's reputation, and we can't afford that right now! This school is too important."   
  
Relana stood, and looked icily at Duo. "If the school is more important to you, Duo, then I'll be sure to leave you out. Is that good enough for you; so you won't be implicated with me?" She searched his face for a second, then turned and stalked off.  
  
"'Lana, wait!" Duo yelled, but she was disappearing around the corner. Relena hurried after her, after throwing a disapproving glance at Duo. He looked at Trowa, who wouldn't meet his eyes, and Quatre, who shook his head.  
  
"What?!"  
  
  
"'Lana, please. I didn't mean it that way! C'mon, I said I was sorry!" Duo was still trying to get Relana to talk to him. She sat at her desk and stared straight ahead, totally ignoring him. She only talked to Trowa and Quatre, and looked right through Duo.   
  
"Relana! Talk to me?" Duo asked.  
  
"Mr. Maxwell, this is a classroom, not a place to talk to your girlfriend. Pay attention!" Mrs. Yamaguchi snapped. Duo blushed and turned back to his work as the class snickered. Relana, whose face was equally red, hurriedly started writing as the teacher glared at her. Just then, the comm blared to life and called Relana, Trowa, Quatre, and Duo down to the headmistress' office.   
  
Relana walked down with Quatre, leaving Duo and Trowa to follow. Upon entering, the four of them were gestured into the headmistress' office. Terry Masters was sitting there, his eye black and his lower lip swollen. There was a cut on his cheek. Terry smirked at Relana as she sat as far from him as she could get.  
  
"Terry, tell us what happened at lunch today." The headmistress said.   
  
"Well, I saw Miss Peacecraft in class today, and she was a new student. So, at lunch time, I walked up to her to welcome her to the school. I just said hello, and she started to insult me. I asked her what I did and she punched me. That's when the others and Relena Peacecraft showed up. Duo and Quatre pulled her away, and I was going to thank them when Trowa threatened me! He shoved me out of the way, and then they all took off." Terry looked innocently at the headmistress. Relana's eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to speak. Duo beat her to it.  
  
"That wasn't the way it happened, Headmistress. Terry said something to Relana, to make her mad like that." If Duo thought Relana would be grateful, he was mistaken; all he got from her was an icy glare.  
  
"Duo, let Relana tell her version. Relana?"   
  
"I was walking around, waiting for Quatre, Trowa, Duo and my sister, when Terry walked up and put his arm around me. I told him not to touch me, and he laughed. Then I told him that if he didn't let go of me, I would hit him. Then, he insulted my sister, so I punched him. I told him to take it back, and that's when my friends showed up. Trowa didn't insult Terry, he just told him to get lost. They had no part in it, Headmistress." Relana replied, her eyes flashing with anger. Trowa opened his mouth to contradict her, but she elbowed him in the side. Quatre looked uncertain, but kept quiet, and Duo glared at Relana. He would have told the headmistress his part in it, but Relana's face told him he would regret it.   
  
"Well, Miss Peacecraft, you admit to hitting Terry?" Relana nodded.  
  
"We don't approve of that here, Miss Peacecraft. I'll have to suspend you for three days. Terry, you have detention for three days, after school."  
  
"But, it was Terry's fault!" Quatre protested. The headmistress looked at him.   
  
"Don't question my judgment, Mr. Winner."  
  
"Sorry, Headmistress."  
  
"Relana, I'll call Doc to tell him you're coming home. The rest of you go back to class."  
  
  
Doc waited until they were driving home to yell at Relana.   
  
"Will you tell me what happened? You can't just go around fighting everyone. Are you even the least bit sorry for this?"  
  
"No, I'm not. Why should I be? I'm not telling you what happened; it's over." Relana stared straight ahead. Doc gave up trying to get through to her, and concentrated on his driving.  
  
They arrived home in a few minutes, and Relana headed straight to her bedroom. Meg, home for once, looked at her curiously, but didn't ask. Relana threw herself on the bed, and scowled at the ceiling. She heard Doc and Meg talking softly, but tuned them out. Putting her headphones on, she was soon asleep.  
  
Relana awoke with a start. Carefully listening, she tried to discover what was wrong. It was dead silent. She checked the clock; it was a half hour later. School wasn't even out yet. She slid off the bed, and padded silently to her door. Her bare feet made no noise on the carpet, and she cautiously crept out. Intuition told her something was wrong. All the lights were off, except for a single faint one in the kitchen.  
  
"Meg? Doc?" Relana whispered. There was no answer, but she heard footsteps coming from the darkened living room. Pale light filtered in through the single window. A shadow moved in front of the light. Relana froze. The shadow was too big to be Meg, and too short to be Doc. Not even the children were crying. The children! Where were they? She crept towards their room, praying the person wouldn't see her. The door to the children's room was ajar, and the room provided the only other light. Relana gasped. The room had been ransacked, and Meg lay in a heap on the floor. Relana ran in, and knelt beside her friend. Faintly, the wail of a child was heard. Meg's eyes were closed, her face pale. Blood streaked her hair. Relana checked for a pulse. It was there, weak but steady.   
  
"Hey! There's another one!" The hoarse voice came from behind her. Relana spun around. A short, masked man stood there, staring at her. He must have been the one Relana had seen in the shadows. Relana gaped at him, then at the gun he pointed straight at her.  
  
"Who are you, girl?" he growled. Relana just stared at him, hoping he would think she was stupid, and didn't understand. His finger inched closer to the trigger on the gun.  
  
"Chotto matte kudasai! Iie! Takushi noriba wa doko desu ka?" Relana crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping the man didn't know Japanese. If he did, he would know she had just said 'Please wait a moment. No! Where is the taxi stand?' Luckily, he didn't. He motioned with the gun for Relana to come out of the room. Unknown to her, he gestured to another man standing in the shadows. As Relana walked out, she felt a sudden, sharp pain on the back of her head. As she sank to her knees and the blackness overpowered her, she faintly heard the man say, "Stupid girl! Thought she could pretend she was Japanese! Asked me where the taxi stand was."   
  
  
"Relana? Meg, Doc?" Duo called, entering the building. The place was dark, only a few lights on. Usually, Doc came to ask how school had gone, or the children came running up to throw themselves at whoever opened the door first.   
  
"Where are they?" Quatre asked, coming up behind Duo. Duo shrugged.  
  
"Maybe they went shopping." Wufei muttered. "Move, Duo." He shouldered his way past Duo and entered. "Hello?" he called.  
  
"I thought they went shopping?" Duo smirked. Wufei glared at him. Trowa shoved past.  
  
"Are you going to stand there until Heero gets back?" he asked. Duo grimaced. Heero had been kept at school for missing assignments, and would not be in a good mood when he got free. Quatre walked in, and Duo followed him.   
  
"Why are all the lights off?" Quatre asked.   
  
"Hey, what's that?" Trowa asked, pointing to a lump on the floor. He flicked on the lights, and stared. Doc lay on the floor, a huge bump on his head. He stirred as they stared, slowly opening his eyes.  
  
"Wha… What happened?" he mumbled. Trowa and Wufei helped him up.  
  
"Doc, where's Relana? Where's Meg?" Duo asked. Doc rubbed his head.  
  
"Meg's in the baby room, I think. We tried to stop them… They were just too powerful. I haven't seen Relana since she came home. She could still be in her bedroom.   
  
"Or kidnapped." Duo said under his breath as he ran towards the baby room. He stopped short outside the door. Relana lay on the ground, her long hair matted with blood. He dropped to his knees beside her, and cradled her head in his arms.  
  
"Relana? Relana! Can you hear me? Wake up!" He shook her hard.  
  
"What are you trying to do? Kill me?" she snapped, pushing him away. She blinked and rubbed her head.  
  
"I swear, girl, you have more lives than a cat." Meg said from the doorway. There was a gash above her eyes, but other than that she appeared okay.  
  
"Did you get the license plate of the car that hit me?" Relana mumbled. Meg laughed.  
  
"Now I know you're fine. But, you're lucky. They were after you, Relana. They didn't expect you to be here, that's why they took the children. They must have thought you were Relena."  
  
"You're okay now, right?" Duo asked. "Nothing worse than usual with your brain?"  
  
"I vote we hit you in the back of the head and see how you feel." Relana retorted, scowling at him.  
  
"I second it." Quatre said, coming over. "Need some help, Relana?" He offered her his hand, which she gratefully took. Once on her feet, she swayed from side to side.  
  
"Wow, mummy, look at the little birdies." She said, crossing her eyes. "Meg, they took the children?"   
  
"Yeah. I tried, honestly I did, but I'm no fighter. I couldn't stop them, and neither could Doc. Not even you."  
  
"They took me by surprise. They'll get what's coming though."  
  
"Not now, they won't. Relana, you're not going anywhere. I forbid you to leave this house." Doc said from the hall. Relana stared at him, her mouth open.  
  
"What?! You won't let me rescue the children? Why not?" she demanded.   
  
"They took you by surprise once. They're also looking for you. It's OZ, I'm sure, and they know you'll come after the children. Let me work out a plan first. Understand me, Relana? No leaving this house." Doc turned and left, leaving Relana fuming.  
  
  
That night, all the pilots except Duo and Quatre had gone to sleep. Heero had responded with his usual scowl when told of the afternoon's happenings. Doc had left, and hadn't returned yet. Duo got up from the card game and went to get a drink. He met Relana in the kitchen. There was something strange about her, but Duo was too tired to think of it. Besides, Relana was still angry about his lecture. She said she was getting a drink too. Duo yawned and returned to the card game. Only after a few minutes did it hit him: Relana had been fully clothed, and in her pilot's outfit. He leaped up and ran into the kitchen. It was too late; the door was ajar, and Relana was gone.  
  
  
A/N: Kudos, Silver Wing. You picked up on my hints. What you said in your review is exactly what I plan on doing! Gracias, everyone else who read and reviewed!  



	6. Default Chapter Title

"I'm going to kill her." Heero mumbled, yawning. "Truly going to kill her."  
  
"That's what you always say." Duo replied. Heero glared at him.  
  
"This time, I mean it."   
  
"Arguing won't get us anywhere. Would 'Lana have taken Kamikaze?" Quatre asked. Before anyone could answer, the phone rang. Trowa, closest to the phone, hit speaker.  
  
"Hey, guys. Guess who?" It was Relana. "No, Duo, I'm not telling you where I am. Just letting you know I'm okay."  
  
"'Lana, Doc's gonna kill you." Duo said. She laughed.  
  
"Not if he doesn't catch me. It's not likely I'll get outta this mess anyway. So long as the children are fine, and safe... Never mind. Promise me you won't come after me, unless I call you again?"  
  
"No. We're going to trace this call, and find you. Then we'll drag you home if we have to." Heero replied, his voice emotionless.  
  
"You want to find me? Then figure this out. Where once a collector did sigh, so now do I lie. Where once there was a little boy, and the church he planned to annoy. There do I wait, for an anger I need to satiate. Among the echoes of an orphan, where Death I now am courtin'. Only Shinigami knows..." There was a soft click, and she was gone.   
  
"I'm going to kill that girl."   
  
  
Relana gently returned the cell phone to the pouch at her waist. She knew she would probably need backup, but by the time they figured out her riddle, she would have gotten the children out. She glanced up again, noting the guards' positions. She ran her hand over the smooth barrel of the gun in her pocket. She would use it if she had to. It reminded her of another time she was forced to use that gun...  
  
~Flashback~  
  
Relana, then just thirteen years old, stood poised at the door with Meg. They listened carefully to the guards pacing outside the girls dormitory. Relana held a smooth gun in her hand; it's weight dragged on her, but she told herself she would use it if she had to. She hoped it didn't come to that. They heard the guards stop at the end of the hall, to chat as they always did. Meg slowly opened the door, and they crept out. They snuck down the hall, keeping a sharp eye out for the guards posted everywhere. The last people to try this died horribly.  
  
"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" A bullet thudded into the wall beside Relana's head. Meg shrieked, and Relana threw herself on the ground. She shot over her shoulder and heard a scream. It ended suddenly, and Meg yanked Relana to her feet. They started running as the other guard shot at them. More guards ran in front of them. Relana shut her eyes and fired the gun at them. She heard it hit flesh, but by then they were down a different hallway. The two girls dived into an empty office and hit the secret button they had spotted two days earlier. The bookcase swung silently open, and they jumped in. The door shut behind them two seconds before the guards came in.  
  
Relana dropped the gun, shaking all over. Her face was dead white, her blue eyes wide.  
  
"I k-killed people, Meg. Killed them! What am I?" She buried her face in her hands. Meg stroked her hair.  
  
"You did what you had to, 'Lana. Get used to it. As a Gundam pilot, you'll have to kill."  
  
~End flashback~  
  
She had done what she had to. Meg had seemed cold-hearted back then, but Relana understood now. After all, she had done her share of killing in the two years since that day. She shifted restlessly. The hard ground was not the most comfortable spot in the world. In her mind, she felt the faint touch of Kamikaze.   
  
Kamikaze was the only good thing that came out of the experience at the boarding school. OZ had been working on a new prototype of Gundam, and Relana had been deemed strong enough to have one. There was a special connection between these Gundams and their pilots. It was almost as though Kamikaze were alive, anticipating Relana's commands and spotting danger before Relana did. Relana always knew exactly where and in what condition Kamikaze was in.   
  
A movement outside the compound caught Relana's eye. The guards were changing. In the two hours she had been here, the guards had changed every half hour. Now was her chance, in the confusion of changing guards, to sneak in.   
  
Silently, she ran forward, her attention focused only on the guards. She made it safely in the door, and hid behind a convenient pile of boxes. The guards finished changing, and Relana looked around. The building was a large, warehouse, full of scientists, mobile suits and even a few Gundam prototypes. Relana waited until there was no one around, then crept out and followed a lone guard on his way to one of the offices on the top floor. In a dark hallway, she tripped the guard, knocked him out and took his uniform. It was a loose fit, but she supposed it would have to do. Dragging the guard into an office, she closed the door, and continued down the hallway.  
  
"Guard! Where are you going?" The voice halted Relana in her tracks. She slowly turned around, keeping her face hidden. A young lieutenant stood there, his hands on his hips.  
  
"Uh, I was told to find the captive children. Zechs would like them. He, uh, wants to send a message to the Gundam pilots." Relana replied, deepening her voice. "I'm new, and I got lost. Where are the children?"  
  
"Right this way. Follow me, guardsman." The lieutenant turned smartly and headed down the hall.   
  
After going down numerous stairs, they finally arrived at a padlocked door. The lieutenant gestured at it, left Relana the key and headed back upstairs. Relana glanced furtively around, then unlocked the door. She slipped inside and closed the door softly.  
  
" Auntie 'Lana! Auntie 'Lana!" Makiko squealed. "You came!" She leaped up and hugged Relana. Kenji grabbed her legs, and even Masayoshi gurgled from his crib by the wall.  
  
"Auntie 'Lana, you ain't never gonna leave us again, right? Don't let them baddies get us." Kenji said, hiding his face in her pant leg.  
  
"Don't worry, guys. I'll get you outta here."  
  
  
"What does she mean?" Wufei muttered. "Only Shinigami knows... She means you know where she is, Duo. Think."  
  
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Wait, a church? A collector? An orphan? She means the L2 colony! I'm a collector, there was a church there where I would play, and I'm an orphan, aren't I? Yes, I figured it out!" Duo exclaimed  
  
"Quiet, Duo. We better go find her before Doc gets back, or-"  
  
"What do you need to find before I get back?" Doc walked into the kitchen, saw their guilty faces, and sighed. "She's gone, isn't she?" Just then, the phone rang again. Duo pounced on it, and hit speaker.  
  
"Hey, guys. Me again. Figured it out yet, Duo?" Relana asked.  
  
"Yes. You're in the L2 colony. Did you find the children yet?" Heero asked.  
  
"Yup. Well, are you going to get down here, or not? I need the- Huh? Makiko! Quick, take the phone and hide it!" Relana was cut off in a burst of static. Intermittently, there was a yell, sounds of fighting, and then a gunshot. One of the children screamed. Then it was dead silent.  
  
"Makiko! Relana, are you there? Makiko, what happened?" Duo yelled into the phone. A tiny, teary voice answered him.  
  
"They got Auntie 'Lana. Unca Duo, they took her!" Makiko started crying.   
  
"What do you mean, they got her, Makiko? Makiko?"   
  
"She was talking to you, and then the door opened and she gave the phone to Makiko." It was Kenji. "And then she started hitting the baddies coming in, and then one of them grabbed Masayoshi, and Auntie 'Lana got real mad. She pulled out this gun, and told the baddie to put Masayoshi back. But he didn't, and Auntie 'Lana was gonna shoot him, but this other baddie fired at her, and she was almost hit, but it just missed, and then this other baddie come storming in. He had really long, almost white hair. He got real mad too, and hit the guy with the gun and started yelling. He said something to Auntie 'Lana, but it was real low, and then she had to follow them out. And then you came on, and we're scared. Auntie 'Lana promised the baddies wouldn't get us again, but they did!"  
  
"All right, Kenji, don't worry. We'll be there. We have to go now, ok?" Duo replied. He clicked the phone off.  
  
  
"Zechs has Relana." Quatre said.  
  
"You have a propensity for stating the obvious, Quatre." Trowa replied. Doc glared at them all.  
  
"I was counting on the five of you to keep her inside tonight. How could she slip past all five of you?" he asked. Before anyone could answer, there was a knock at the door. Doc opened it, and let two cloaked people into the room.  
  
"Hi guys." It was Hilde and Sally.   
  
  
  
  
Relana slumped in a chair in Zechs' office, waiting for the guards to go away. He was softly talking with them, then he sent them out. He returned to sit in the chair opposite her.  
  
"Well, sister, what are you doing here?"   



	7. Default Chapter Title

"Oh, shut up, Miliardo. What did you have me dragged all the way down here for?"  
  
"Is that any way to talk to your dear brother? I see you haven't lost any of your defiance, Relana. How's that sister of ours, anyway?"  
  
"What do you care? You abandoned us, remember?" Zechs sighed.   
  
"You know I had to."  
  
"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of the colonies."  
  
"No, technically Relena is." Zechs smiled.  
  
"Shove it."   
  
"You know, I can easily have you thrown in the dungeon. Do you think I would?"  
  
"Is this a multiple choice question?"  
  
"Still living on the streets?"  
  
"No. I live with my friends-" She cut off suddenly and clamped her lips together.   
  
"We know you're with the Gundam pilots, Relana. Why do you think Treize, and especially Une, would love to get their hands on you? I also know you're a Gundam pilot yourself." A faint smile touched his lips. "I don't think even Une knows that."  
  
"Well, don't you feel special. Listen, Miliardo, my friends are coming right now to blow this place up. You're still my brother, and I don't want you killed. Let me, and the children, go and then get out of here yourself. Even if you did abandon the Sank Kingdom."  
  
"You know I can't. Treize would have my head if you... escaped. I'm sure Une would love that."  
  
"Then come with me. You don't have to stay here. By the way, how did you know I was here?"  
  
"That lieutenant you talked to? Apparently you called me just Zechs. You didn't use my proper title here."  
  
"Well, that was stupid. Ah well, next time I'll try better." Zechs rose and walked over to the door.  
  
"Sometimes, Relana, I wonder if you're actually sane." She grinned at him.  
  
"Who says I am?"  
  
"Not me. I'm going to regret this, I know. Give me the gun you have in your pocket. Keep the one in the shoulder holster and pretend that I'm taking you with me when I leave. Let's go. We'll pick up the children on the way."  
  
Relana smiled delightedly and, leaping up, kissed her brother on the cheek.   
  
"Stop that." He growled, then put a hand lightly on her back. He held the gun out, but still looking as though it was pointed at Relana. "Head down. We don't want anyone getting suspicious." Relana complied, and they walked out of Zechs' office.  
  
Soon, they were outside the children's prison. They could hear Masayoshi wailing, and Makiko's attempts to soothe him. Zechs pulled a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. Two heads jerked up in surprise and even Masayoshi stopped crying.  
  
"Auntie 'Lana!" Makiko cried, running toward her. She stopped suddenly when she saw Zechs. "Go 'way baddie! Leave my Auntie 'Lana alone!" she screamed at him.  
  
"Makiko, it's ok. He's going to help us get out of here. His name is Zechs, and he's my brother. I'm going to get Masayoshi, and I want you two to stay close to us, understand?" They both nodded solemnly. Relana crossed the room to pick up Masayoshi, who giggled when he saw her. Cradling Masa, she returned to Zechs and the children. They carefully crept out of the room, and Relana cautioned the children to stay quiet. They only had trouble once, when another lieutenant questioned them. Zechs told her that he was taking Relana and the children to Treize right away.  
  
They were almost out when the firing began.  
  
"They're here. One of them is going to come and try to rescue us." Relana said, listening to the sounds of battle from outside. Zechs caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. Relana saw him, looked into the shadows, and gasped.  
  
"Duo, no!" she screamed, leaping at Zechs. She shoved him out of the way as a bullet whined over their heads. Duo appeared, his face dead white.  
  
"Relana! I thought I hit you!"  
  
"Well, Maxwell, it's good for me that you have no aim." She snapped, flipping herself to her feet. "What were you doing?"  
  
"What do you think I was doing? That's Zechs Marquise, unless you couldn't tell."  
  
"I know, Duo. He's my-" Zechs cut her off.  
  
"Her savior. I couldn't let Treize have her, she would be killed or used for ransom."  
  
"You mean you actually care?" Duo said sarcastically.   
  
"Shut up, Maxwell. Let's go, before those idiots out there blow us all up. Duo, help us get to Kamikaze." Relana commanded. Duo frowned slightly, then turned and headed back into the shadows, leaving Relana, Zechs and the children to follow.  
  
  
Outside, the battle raged on furiously. The OZ base was well-armed and the Gundam pilots were hard put to avoid all the cross-fire. There was a burst of static over the comm, then Duo's voice.  
  
"Guys, I found her. We're going to find Kamikaze now, so cover us. We're coming out the big door to the south."   
  
"Move it, Duo! Then we can totally destroy this place." Heero said, slashing a nearby mobile suit to pieces. He glanced down, and saw five figures running out of the building. To his surprise, one of the figures was Zechs.  
  
"What the...?" Quatre said over the comm. "What's Zechs doing with them?"  
  
"If I knew, I'd tell you." Heero retorted. "You guys destroy the building; I'll cover Duo and Relana." He turned Wing Zero and blasted another mobile suit headed for the figures on the ground. The figures looked up, and Relana waved pertly. Heero growled under his breath, and continued checking for any OZ suits. He almost crashed into Kamikaze when the Gundam suddenly rose from the ground right in front of him.  
  
"What the...?" Heero mirrored Quatre's earlier statement as Kamikaze flew, seemingly of it's own will, towards Relana. It set down just in front of them, opened it's hatch, and then fired straight at an incoming mobile suit. Heero gaped, his normally expressionless face showing utter disbelief. He watched as Relana pulled herself in, then reached down for the children. Duo boosted them up to her, then gestured at Zechs with the gun. Relana leaned down again, and it looked like she was yelling at Duo, who in turn was yelling at Zechs.  
  
"What's going on over there?" Quatre asked through the comm. "Relana, you there?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me." Relana replied. Heero saw Zechs and Duo both climb into Kamikaze, which took off in the direction of Shinigami. They landed, and Duo was soon back in his own Gundam.  
  
"Ready to blow this place?" Duo asked. Without waiting for an answer, he fired at the warehouse, setting a whole section on fire. Relana threw her chakram at the warehouse, and soon it was all ablaze. The other Gundams fired or slashed at the warehouse, which quickly became a pile of rubble.   
  
"If we're finished with the massacre?" Zechs' dry voice came over the comm. "I'd like to get back before my absence is noticed."  
  
"You're not going anywhere!" Duo said.  
  
"Quiet, Duo. Zechs, you can't go back now. They'll know immediately that you helped me to escape. You have to go with us." Relana interrupted. Zechs said something to her quietly, but she was adamant. Zechs was coming with them.  
  
"Let's go." Trowa said, and they headed home.   
  
  
  
"It's about time you got back." Doc snapped when the pilots walked in. "Relana, I want to talk to you now."  
  
"Doc, I had to do it. Don't look at me that way, you know it's the truth!" Relana replied, her eyes searching Doc's face.  
  
"I still told you to wait. How did you know I wasn't planning something? Instead you go running off and- Zechs?!" Doc exclaimed, seeing Zechs as he walked in the door. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was forced to come here. Trust me, Doc, it isn't my pleasure." Zechs replied, looking around the room.  
  
"Do you two know each other?" Relana asked, looking from one to the other.  
  
"Unfortunately." Zechs said.  
  
"No." Doc said at the exact same time.  
  
"Well? Which is it?" Relana demanded, staring at both of them.  
  
"Yes, we know each other." Doc sighed. "We're acquaintances."  
  
"Doc, don't be so modest." Zechs added. "Doc here used to work for OZ, and he was the one who designed Kamikaze, 'Lana."   
  
"How do you know her nickname?" Duo demanded suspiciously, before Relana could really register what Zechs had said.  
  
"Because!" Makiko interrupted. "He's her brother!"  



End file.
